Guerrilla War

January 25, 1986

LIMA, PERU — Slingshots. Spears. A few rifles. Those are the weapons usually carried by vigilante bands organized by the army to resist Shining Path guerrillas in the Andean highlands. There was a clash this week in Cochas, a village 300 miles southeast of Lima, and authorities report that four vigilantes and two guerrillas were killed. Five wounded vigilantes were taken to a hospital in Ayacucho, 80 miles away. At least 7,000 people have been killed in guerrilla- related violence since the Shining Path group began operating in May 1980.